Revista Retratos
Video reports presents Old Chico, the enduring river
November 19, 2018 02h00 PM | Last Updated: November 19, 2018 06h17 PM
Whoever sees the spring of São Francisco River on top of the National Park of Canastra, in Minas Gerais, will not know that narrow watercourse gets wider and wider throughout its 2,700 km extension up to the Atlantic Ocean, on the border between Sergipe and Alagoas.
It was at the mouth of Old Chico, more precisely in Propriá, a municipality in Sergipe, that the Retratos Magazine team got to know about the lives of boatmen, fishermen, rice crop workers and potters whose survival depends on the river.
Their stories speak of love for the São Francisco River, and also of longing for old times when it was a symbol of abundance. Nevertheless, despite the decrease of water volume and of the amount of fishes, despite the silting of the river and the surrounding pollution, Old Chico and its people still resists and hope for a better future.
The video bellow shows some of those stories. It is the firts one of a series of reports about the São Francisco River to be made available here at the IBGE News Agency. All of them are based on Retratos Magazine, no. 13.
Old Chico has also been one of the themes of the IBGE Minute. Click here to listen.
